Why in the end I voted for Norman Lamb
We need effective liberal voices in an increasingly illiberal world
Although I’ve not been an active Lib Dem for more than a decade and a half I have still retained my membership and consider my politics as being strongly liberal with a small “l”.
As I posted the week before last I arrived back from holiday to find my voting papers waiting for me and at that stage I could not decide between the two. I have enormous respect for the campaigning abilities of Tim Farron and the way he seems to have matured during the leadership campaign. The party needs someone with his energy and if it is to move forward from the disaster on May 7th.
Although Lamb is of an older generation he’s a highly effective campaigner too and I’ve been hugely impressed by the way he has conducted his campaign. I think that his powerful liberal voice can inspire the party and, of course, he brings considerable ministerial experience.
The way he raised the status of mental health within the NHS can be rated as perhaps the party’s biggest political and most lasting achievement from the coalition years.
I should add that my vote is probably the kiss of death. Since joining the party on its formation in 1987 all my votes in leadership elections gave gone to losers.
We’ll know the result tomorrow.